Home and home with Michigan Tech next
| MARQUETTE, Mich. – Scoreless with four minutes remaining in the third period, the Sun Devils were gifted its fifth power play of the evening, and the special teams provided Arizona State the late go-ahead goal before scoring on the empty to end the game at 2-0. “I thought that was the best game we’ve played this year,” commented head coach Dave Shyiak in his post-game press conference. “We competed hard, we made it difficult for them to generate plays off the rush, we had some more time of possession… we did everything to win the game except put the puck in the net.” Ryan Ouellette was outstanding once again, making 36 saves for a .973 save%, including a handful from the dangerous area in the slot. The ‘Cats PK continued to find overall success, going 4/5 on the evening. “The penalty kill was outstanding, Ryan Ouellette was really good and gave us a chance to win.” Both Jesse Tucker and Jakub Altrichter were exceptional in the faceoff circle for the Wildcats, as Tucker went 17/21 (80.9%), and Altrichter was 13/17 (76.5%). Sun Devil netminder Gibson Homer recorded a 22-save shutout, the second of his career. Ryan Kirwan scored both goals, also leading the team with 11 shots on target. The Wildcats now move to 1-5-0 as the challenging non-conference schedule comes to a close. The ‘Cats now look to turn the page ahead of next weekend, as the Wildcats welcome the Huskies to the Berry Events Center for the first time of the season on Friday, November 1. “We talked about continuing to use these games as building blocks for next week when we start conference play. To me, conference play is like the start to a new season, and we’ll get back to work on Monday.” Dave Shyiak Post Game Press Conference Highlights How It Happened It was a penalty-riddled first period, as the Wildcats were shorthanded for almost half the first frame, accruing eight minutes in penalties. The penalty kill units continued their strong defensive play, killing all four infractions to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes of play. It was a balanced second period, as the ‘Cats recorded 14 shots on target to the Sun Devils 12. The ‘Cats had the edge in high-danger chances, with five shots coming in the slot to Arizona State’s none. The ‘Cats also held the edge in the face off dot, winning 13 of 20 second period draws. With four minutes left in the third period of an even, tightly contested, and scoreless contest, the officiating crew call the Wildcats for a boarding penalty to send the Sun Devils on the power play at the most critical time of the game. 30 seconds into the ensuing power play, the Wildcats blocked a shot from the point that landed on the stick of Bennett Schimek who then made a cross-crease pass to Ryan Kirwan on the left faceoff dot who beat the outstretched Ouellette. With the net empty, Kirwan collected a loose puck and deposited into the empty net. |
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